Giving pets their due: New service offers final rest options

LEE — Pet owners and their animal companions toured the new Pet Passages funeral home Sunday, which offers caring and loving funeral and cremations services for pets.

Pet Passages, offered by Purdy Funeral Services, is a new facility located at 2 Concord Road, near the Barrington town line.

Stephen Purdy, president of Pet Passages and fourth-generation funeral director, said the new facility offers something that’s been lacking in the local area — pet cremation and funeral services with the same care and standard as is offered for humans.

Purdy said while the idea for Pet Passages came to him about two years ago, the death of his two dogs last spring really pushed the idea forward. Around Easter, his dog Jake died suddenly at his home; two weeks later, his second dog, Jesse, died of cancer. What followed was a process that brought little closure to Purdy and his family — they had to remove Jake’s remains from their home themselves, and the ashes of the dogs were dropped off by UPS two weeks after their deaths. The family barely had a chance to say goodbye.

Unlike the standard process that comes with the loss of a pet, Pet Passages responds to a pet’s death right away. It also offers to come to the owners’ home and lovingly remove the pets’ remains. The pets’ ashes are also returned to the families right away.

Purdy said Pet Passages is one of the few, if not the only, local facility that offers closure to families who lost their pets.

Those who have animal companions, he said, “are not pet owners, they’re pet parents. These pets are their children.”

During the open house on Sunday, Purdy showed residents a private viewing room, in which families can quietly say good-bye to their pets one last time.

Dozens of locals, many with leashes and dogs in hand, viewed the new state-of-the-art facility and learned about the services offered by Pet Passages.

After the open house, Jo Maden, a life cycle celebrant, offered a blessing of the animals, offering wellness and love to pets that are still alive, and those who have passed. At one point, through the silence, those in attendance spoke out the names of their beloved pets, whether living or not.

Maden said she had her own experience with Pet Passages, after her 11-year-old Sheltie, named Duncan, died earlier this month. Maden said she got to say goodbye to Duncan in the private viewing area, after which Purdy came out with a gurney and lovingly laid a “gorgeous plush blanket” over Duncan’s remains. Maden said after the cremation, Duncan’s remains were hand-delivered to her the next day.

“It allowed us to have more peace and healing,” said Maden.

Purdy said that since opening in mid-January, members of the community “have been thanking us up and down” for providing the services offered by Pat Passages. Even those whose pets are still alive have been approaching Purdy in appreciation, he said.

“Families have been looking for this, and it hasn’t been offered until now,” said Purdy.